Electric motorcycle startup Cake filed for bankruptcy on February 1, CEO Stefan Ytterborn confirmed to TechCrunch.
The Swedish company was in the middle of a funding round just before the filing, but apparently the pullout of an investor is what drove the company to the sidelines, according to Swedish media reports. Ytterborn declined to comment on what happens next. While it is unclear whether Cake has filed for bankruptcy or insolvency, Ytterborn told media outlet Dagens Industri that he had nothing “on his mind but to find a solution in one form or another.” His comments suggest the company sought protection.
Best known for building high-end bikes, Cake raised a $14 million Series A round in 2019. It followed that up with a $60 million Series B round in 2021 led by Swedish pension fund AMF. The capital was intended to finance manufacturing facilities in Europe, North America and Asia and to scale its retail capabilities, the company said at the time.
However, the cake has struggled of late. In November, it issued a recall for one of its mopeds due to a there is a risk of breaking the steering column. Just a few weeks later, it recalled its flagship Kalk e-motorcycle after a unit caught fire at a South Korean delegation. Ytterborn confirmed last week that Swedish outlet Breakit that the company was not going to be able to pay salaries to the employees.
Cake’s racing is just the latest in the wider world of e-mobility. Super pedestrian went out of order and Bird declared bankruptcy. Micromobility.com — formerly known as Helbiz — was was deleted from the Nasdaq stock exchange. Tier and Dott decided to incorporate to find a better way forward.
Perhaps most relevant to Cake, however, is the case of Vanmoof. The leading e-bike manufacturer from the Netherlands filed for bankruptcy last year. However, it was able to find a buyer in electric scooter company Lavoie who have since brought the brand back into operation.
